The storage policy drives the encryption for virtual machines. Enable the encryption in the storage policy then assign it to the virtual machine (VM) configuration files and its disks. The replication follows the encryption status. First encrypt the VMs before adding them in the replication.

With VMware Cloud Director Availability 4.7.2 and later, you can create the following replications for encrypted objects.
  • You can replicate a vApp containing both encrypted and non-encrypted VMs.
  • You can create a replication for an encrypted VM with enabled virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM), and with full, partial, or no encryption of the attached storage disks.
  • You can also create a replication for a non-encrypted VM and encypt the VM as a part of the replication process.
If the replicated VM changes from encrypted to non-encrypted, reestablish the replication by stopping it then starting it.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites for the versions in the source and in the destination sites:
  • For Cloud Director sites, use vCenter Server 7.0 U2 and later, and VMware Cloud Director 10.2 and later.
  • For vSphere DR and migration, use vCenter Server 7.0 U2 and later, and VMware Cloud Director Availability 4.5 and later in both the source and the destination site.
  • Note: With vCenter Server 7.0 U2 and later, you can use an external KMS or vSphere ® Native Key Provider™. Verify that the backing vCenter Server instances in the destination have a KMS with the same name and with access to the same key used to encrypt the source VM. VMware Cloud Director Availability then ensures the necessarily encryption keys are pushed to the hosts responsible for the replications.

    The prerequisite for the same encryption keys comes from the underlying replication technology and applies for all supported topologies, both Cloud Director sites and for vSphere DR and migration.

Prerequisites for the ESXi hosts in both the source and in the destination sites:
Install the HBR agent VIB in all the ESXi hosts. To download the HBR agent VIB file directly from the appliance:
  • Depending on the appliance type and deployment, from the following URL on the appliance download the:
    • https://vCenter_Replication_Management_Appliance_Address:8043/hbr-agent.vib file.
    • https://Replicator_Appliance_Address/hbr-agent.vib file.
  • Alternatively, from the appliance filesystem, download the /opt/vmware/hbr/vib/vmware-hbr-agent-build_number.i386.vib file.
After installing the HBR agent, it encrypts the traffic originating from the source ESXi host, providing end-to-end encryption. Installing the HBR agent in the destination ESXi host allows reversing the replications and the reverse replications traffic is also encrypted end-to-end.

For more information about VIBs and how to install them, see VIBs, Image Profiles, and Software Depots in the VMware ESXi Upgrade Guide.

Prerequisites for the vCenter Server instances in both the source and in the destination sites:
  • Configure a key provider in vSphere. For more information, see Virtual Machine Encryption in the vSphere Security Guide:
    • For vSphere 7.0 U2 and later, configure a VMware vSphereNative Key Provider which does not require an external key server. For more information, see Configuring and Managing vSphere Native Key Provider in the vSphere Security Guide.
    • Alternatively, for vSphere 7.x, configure an external key server, previously known as Key Management Server cluster and ensure that the cluster names match. For information about configuring a standard key provider, see Set up the Key Management Server Cluster in the vSphere Security Guide.
  • Use the same key provider for both the source and the destination vCenter Server instances. For more information, see vSphere Native Key Provider Overview in the vSphere Security Guide.

    To ensure that both sites use the same vSphere key provider, for example, backup the key provider from site A then restore it and set it as default in site B.

Prerequisites for cloud sites backed by VMware Cloud Director:

Procedure

  1. In the left pane, choose a replication direction.
    • For a replication between cloud sites backed by VMware Cloud Director, choose either an incoming replication from a cloud site, or an outgoing replication to a cloud site.
    • For vSphere DR and migration, encrypted replications support all replication directions and you can choose any replication direction.
  2. To create a replication for encrypted virtual machines, select either new protection or new migration.
    • Click All Actions > New Protection.
    • Click All Actions > New Migration.
  3. Complete the New Replication wizard.
    1. On the Source workload page, select your workloads and click Next.
      Note: With VMware Cloud Director Availability 4.7.2 and later, in a replication for encrypted virtual machines, you can select encrypted and non-encrypted virtual machines.
    2. On the next page, select a storage policy placement for the recovered workloads that shows Encrypted in the Encryption capability column, then click Next.
      After selecting an encrypted virtual machine, you can only select an encrypted storage policy.
    3. On the Settings page, configure the replication settings, then click Next.
      Note: With VMware Cloud Director Availability 4.7.2 and later, in a replication for encrypted virtual machines, you can select both encrypted and non-encrypted disks.

      After you replicate a non-encrypted to an encrypted virtual machine, all newly added disks to the destination machine inherit the encrypted storage policy, which encrypts all disks on the VM.

    4. On the Ready to Complete page, verify that the replication settings are correct, then click Finish.
    The initial synchronization of a replication containing an encrypted virtual machine takes longer to complete than a replication with the same settings that contains a non-encrypted virtual machine with the same hardware.

Results

The new replication that contains only encrypted virtual machines uses encryption for the replication data communication.